Time for Gratitude - Meme Humor

Ok, so I don't know how many of you are on Facebook...I'm assuming many, if not all, of you are. If you are, you likely have seen the picture collages that have been going around about life choices, hobbies, etc that show the different depictions on what people around us think of those life choices and hobbies...I think they are called meme's...at least I hope that's what they're called since it's in my title - ha! :)


Yesterday a reader posted one on our facebook page and I had to laugh...it was the cloth diapering one below, and for real - it fits me to a TEE! The one I can't find and think definitely needs to be done, though, is a Work at Home Mom one! If any of you are super creative and have ideas for one, I'll throw it together...I just need your ideas for pics that would fit it :)

Seriously, though - whoever came up with the original one is brilliant and should get a ton of credit...unfortunately, I have no clue who was the creative genius behind this concept. I do know, though, that I have seen several that apply either to me or some or many of my friends that I totally get a kick out of. I've posted some of them below...if I have been able to track where they came from, I am citing credit, but if I don't know (or if I get the credit wrong!) I apologize in advance for not giving credit where it's due.


If you have any others you have seen and would like to share, please post a link in the comments...I think they are all wonderful and most if not all of them have put a smile on my face. I hope they do the same for you!

Today I'm super thankful for humor - it helps me get through my days a little happier!

~Evie

By: Babywearing Doula

By: Not sure...?

By: Carolina Cloth

By: Buddha Bunz

By: Holly Helps Us - Birth Services

By: The Guggie Daily

By: Primitive Mommy

By: Colleen MacRamos

By: Guggie Daily

Newborns and Giveaways

Oh, my goodness! I cannot even tell you how much fun it was to get all these precious newborn baby pictures! I sincerely can't thank you enough for sharing your beautiful babes with us all!

Our Vienna (no, this picture is not part of the contest - I just wanted to share
since I shared Porter's the other day *wink*)

Ok - so, we all know this is a contest and giveaway, but what are the rules?

Here's the deal: Out of all the pictures below, vote for your favorite. That's it. Just type the picture number and name of your vote in a comment. Whomever's baby picture receives the most votes will get a personalized hooded towel from me. Please only vote for one picture, and also please make sure that if you are an "anonymous" comment-er that you also type your name and email address in your comment.

But wait - there's more! Just for voting for your favorite you will automatically be entered to win a six-pack of cloth wipes-slash-baby washcloths also made by me.

You will be able to vote until Friday at 4:00 p.m. CST when I will tally the winning vote-getter and draw for the wipe winner.

Fun, huh?

Well, the fun hasn't even begun yet...just wait until you see these precious babies! Oh, my word, I just want to snuggle each and every one of them! Thank you so much to those of you that shared - seriously, you rock!!

And the winner of the most votes is Baby #12 - Danika!

The winner of the drawing between voters is JMX!

Congratulations and thanks for sharing and voting everyone!!

1. Denise Winter

2. Maxwell

3. Toni's Babe

4. Cooper

5. Aubrie

6. Aryia Jade

7. Hazel

8. Carter James

9. Trophy Wife's Babe

10. Devin

11. Liya Elizabeth

12. Danika

13. Parker Tammen (special note: Parker was born on 2/12/12 at 33 weeks!)

14. Jayden

15. Kalyssa and her big sister Lydia

16. Madaline Donna

17. John

18. Alli

19. Kapri Mae

20. Jax

21. Amanda's Babe

22. Heidi's Babe

23. Jerzi

24. Caleb

25. Maddie

26. Allison

27. Mariana

28. Ezekiel

29. Maci Leigh

30. Mason

31. Jacob

32. Ellis

33. George Logan

34. Logan

35. Camila

36. Trenten

Valentine's Day Post and Giveaway

Ok, so usually I don't post on Sundays...at our house we set this day aside for Jesus, family, etc. BUT - I wanted to make sure that you all have a chance to help me out with Tuesday's Valentine's Day post.

I want to post your super-cute-and-cuddly newborn pictures!

We all love to take pictures of our babies and kiddos, and no matter how old your kids are now, I would *love* to see your favorite picture of your newborn...it could be from immediately after birth, it could be from a professional photo shoot, it could just be a candid snapshot - just make sure it's a newborn picture...no older than 3 months. The more "Valentine's Day-ish" the better, but it really doesn't matter. I just want to share your beautiful children with all our readers! Note: if you have more than one child, please only send one picture.

This is our Porter-boy...he was about a week old here

And to make it even more fun, how about we combine this with a giveaway...or two?

Ok - here's the deal. I will post all the newborn pictures I get. Then I will ask all our readers to vote for their favorite. The picture with the most votes will win a personalized hooded towel from me, and then to sweeten the deal, I will draw randomly from the "voters", and one lucky voter will win a set of six cloth wipes-slash-baby washcloths from me!

So, send me your newborn baby pictures! Please email them to media@elegantmommy.com no later than 10:00 a.m. CST on Tuesday. I need them by that time if you want to be entered to win!

Good luck and I can't wait to see all your precious babes!!

~Evie

Educated Mommy Silent Auction

So, we want to take this opportunity to send out a HUGE THANK YOU to everyone that participated in the Educated Mommy online silent auction last weekend! It was a huge success and brought in over $2,300!!

We got two times as many donations as last time, and raised almost twice as much! We are absolutely thrilled to be that much closer to bringing Educated Mommy to you!

We couldn't have done this without you, so whether you donated, purchased, or promoted, THANK YOU!

We will be doing a few other fundraising things in the coming weeks to meet our goals, and because of you, we have a wonderful beginning to the end!

We are almost there!!

What is Diapapallooza Anyway?

For those of you that know us and have been around for awhile, you probably have an idea what Diapapallooza is...some of you have even participated so are really familiar with it. For those of you that are newer, you have possibly heard of it. There may be some of you out there, though, that really don't have any idea what Diapapallooza is...well....let me fill you in.

Elegant Mommy is much more than just trendy used maternity clothes. We specialize in all kinds of things, including breast pumps, nursing bras and accessories, baby supplies (accessories, some clothing, bibs, etc), and yes - cloth diapers! It is a passion of ours and a calling to help families throughout their young-family stages...like our tag line says "From your baby bump to your baby's rump, we've got you covered!".

So, what is this "diapapallooza thing", anyway? Well, basically it is a cloth diaper swap. It is an event designed for moms/families to sell their used cloth diapers and accessories, and families that are looking for really good deals on cloth diapers - either to start out or increase their stashes - to purchase them at a reasonable price.

Sellers are able to set their own price on their items, and there is a consignment fee on items that they sell. Purchasers just go through all the diapers and accessories that are for sale and pick out what they want. They purchase through Elegant Mommy - not the actual seller - so there is no need to worry about payment method (i.e. only cash, etc).

When my husband and I first decided to start cloth diapering, I did a bunch of research trying to determine what kind of diapers would work best for us. Once I had an idea of what I was looking for, I attended a diapapallooza and Shelly was so helpful (this was the first time I met her...and long before I began working for her)! She helped me to find what I wanted in several different styles, so I was easily able to determine what I wanted more of after trying them all out. I knew I wanted to sew the majority of our stash, so once I figured out what I liked best and didn't like about different styles, I was able to design my own that I really love for our little man.

If you live anywhere near Sioux Falls and are interested in beginning to cloth diaper your little one(s) or are already a cloth diaper expert and just want to increase your stash, I highly recommend checking out our next diapapallooza the first weekend in March. Our employees are extremely knowledgeable and will help you with any question you may have...even if you have done no research and don't know what you want!

You can get tickets here (Don't worry - they are free! We only have tickets so we can get an estimate of how many folks will be there...please note that if you want to sell some diapers you MUST "purchase" a seller's ticket). If you have any questions ahead of time, you can comment here, ask on our facebook page, or give us a call or shoot us an email. We are all here to help you with your cloth diapering needs, and Diapapallooza is the perfect place to start!

See you in March!

~Evie DeWitt

Living Chemical Free

One thing that has been important to my family over the past couple years is going chemical free in our home. It hasn’t always been easy, and it certainly didn’t happen overnight. We started out just wanting parabens out of our cosmetics and soaps etc., and now we are at a point where we are truly a chemical free home. Parabens were important for us to eliminate because we learned that they were hormone disrupters. We assume because we can buy our cosmetics, soaps, shampoos, etc. at any store, that some big wig in a lab coat has made sure that it is safe for our well being. The truth is, most of these come to us almost unexamined by the federal government. There are over 20,000 chemicals we use on a daily basis that have never even been looked at or approved by our FDA. We see recalls frequently because of this. My number 1 rule to replace something in my home is that is has to work as good as, or better, than what it is replacing. 9 out of 10 times we find that the natural solution works BETTER than what we were using before!!

After replacing the chemicals we used on our skin on a daily basis, we started learning more about the chemicals we use to clean our home! I have struggled with asthma my whole life, and really hated that there were toxicity labels on all of my home cleaning products. Typical cleaners not only do a number on your eyes, airways – and with enough exposure – your nervous system; they now contaminate more than two-thirds of U.S. streams. Largely because of chemical cleaners, our indoor air can be up to 5 times more polluted than the air outside!

We started with a cloth system that kills germs, but I really was missing the “clean” smell that my chemical cleaners left behind. After doing some research, I found I could make my own cleaners and I could make them smell good (instead of just like vinegar). Speaking of vinegar, did you know it kills as many germs as bleach?? Gotta love those results! Below I will share a few of my favorite cleaning recipes!!

If you’d like to learn more, you are welcome to come to our next Holistic Moms Network meeting held the first Tuesday of every month at Elegant Mommy!! We start at 6pm sharp!!

~Danielle McClure

Holistic Moms Network

Sioux Falls Chapter Leader

www.holisticmoms.org

Lysol Alternative

1/2 cup distilled water

1/2 cup vodka

25 drops orange oil

15 drops lavender oil

15 drops eucalyptus oil

Place all ingredients in a spray bottle, cap and shake well. Shake prior to use.

This one gets rid of urine smells!! A must if you have kids or pets!!

2 cups hot distilled water

3 T baking soda

1 T borax

12 drops essential oil (orange or lavender)

Place ingredients into a spray bottle, cap and shake well. Shake prior to use.

Minty Glass Cleaner

The mint is also an effective insect repellant, helping to keep ants and mice from coming into the home.

2 cups vinegar

1 cup water

1 t castile soap

35 drops peppermint oil

Place all ingredients in a spray bottle, cap and shake well.

Organic Living

Hello my name is Rosalie Evans; Realtor®, working mother, treehugger and organic fanatic are just some of the roles I fill. While my girls Dana Jean (age 15) and Anna Christine (age 10) do not always understand or condone my choices I will continue to make them for my family in the best way I see fit.

We as a family eat 90% certified organic food. We eat food prepared from scratch and nothing that has been processed in a conventional factory. We drink raw milk and only eat certified organic meat. While you would think that it would take longer to prepare meals it really doesn't. And meals can be prepared in bulk during slow times to be used during busier periods. While organic foods are more expensive we do save a lot of money by not buying junk foods. We also buy local when at all possible by buying through our local food coops. It takes a bit of planning but it is well worth it to buy local and prepare fresh. The kids do get their 10% junk food and we have been known to eat fast food at times as well. It is all about having some flexibility when working with kids so you don't have yourself a mutiny.

We also as a family engage in daily exercise. Either through school activities or the gym we try to get at least 30 mins of activity daily. We are not perfect by any sight but we do try. Even if it is nothing more then parking further away from the grocery store or walking the stairs instead of taking the elevator we do something everyday.

Other steps we have taken to stay healthy is to use safer toiletries. We did a lot of experimenting with first natural based products and then if we could not find something natural that worked we went to the Skin Deep Cosmetics Database to find a safer alternative. I would say that a good half of the products that I use are actually edible and the other half only have minimal toxins. On the same token we also only use Western medicine if we are really sick. I have banned anti bacterial soaps, lotions, or other product from my home due to fear of antibiotic resistance. Care is also taken with household cleaners to only use safe ones. We use very few actual products for cleaning and we have a very clean house. Vinegar and water and a steam cleaner will clean up the great majority of all messes.

So while my beliefs are not conventional, and some people think I am a little weird, that is okay. We rarely get sick and we have very little exposure to chemicals and toxins. Someday my girls will figure out I am not totally clueless and by then they will have some very healthy habits. If anyone has any questions for me please do not hesitate to message me on FB.

~Rosalie Evans